Pencil sharpener



March 30, 1948. J. A. YERKES PENCIL SHARPENER Filed Aug. 12, 1944 3heets-Sheet 1 March 30, 1948. J. A. YERKES 2,438,628

PENCIL SHARPENER Filed Aug. 12, 1944 3 Shets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 30,1948 UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE PENCIL SHARPENEB John A. Yerkes, NewYork, N. Y.

Application August 12, 1944, Serial No. 549,214

10 Claims. 1

ihis invention relates tpBnCi1 Sharpeners,

and more particularly to pencil sharpeners of the type which include one.or more rotatable cutters.

Oneof the primary objects .of the invention is to provide for theproduction of a lar e Variety of shapes of pencil-points, to enable theoperator to select a shape which is most suitable for the particulartype of pencil andthe kind of work to be done.

Another important object of the-invention is to enable the operator toselect, and produce the desired shape of penciloint without removing thehousing or chip, container.

A further important object is to enable the selection of a particularpoint to be changed after insertion of the pencil into the machine,without injury to the existing point.

Other objects are simplicity of construction, ease of assembly and useof inexpensive parts.

Additional objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdescription, taken in connection with the drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a central vertical sectional view of the preferred form ofmy pencil sharpener, with the usual housing or chipecontainer omitted;

Figure 1a is a fragmentary sectional view of the handle of the indicatorarm-shown in Fig. 1, taken on line a-a of that figure;

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the end of a pencilsharpened to a relatively short point; v

Figure 3 is a similar view of the end of a pencil sharpened to arelatively longer point, in the usual manner;

Figure i is a fragmentary enlarged diagrammatic view, partly in centralvertical section, of a modified form ofthe invention;

Figure 5 is a top plan View of the auxiliary cutter blade shown in Fig.1

Figure 6 is an end elevational view of the auxiliary cutter blade shownin Fig. 5;

Figure 7 is a top plan view of a modified form of auxiliary cutterblade;

Figures 8, 9., 10 and 11 are. fragmentary diagrammatic perspective viewsof the ends of pencils with points such as may be produced by themodified form of the invention illustrated in Fig. l; and

Figure 12 is a fragmentary central vertical sectional view of a modifiedform of adjusting means for the cutter blade shown in Fig. 1, partsbeing omitted or bro-ken away and other partsbeing shown in elevation. I

Broadly considered-,the, above-mentioned objects of the invention areaccomplished by one or more rotatable cutters in association with anauxiliary cutter which performs the combined functions of a pencil stopand point sharpener.

In the preferred form of the invention the cutter assemblage is carriedby a head or cuttercarrier, which is rotatably mounted on a suitablebase or support, which may take various forms or shapes for use in ahorizontal or vertical position.

By way of illustration, the support maybe-a base casting -i with anintegral cylindrical shafthousing 2 and a gear-housing 3 into which aninternal gear i is pressed. A flanged cylindrical portion 5 may beprovided for reception of the usual housing orchip container (notshown). These parts are fixed and do not rotate.

The rotating parts of the device include a frame 5, shaft 8 and cuttersI5, It. Frame 6, having a central aperture l, for-insertion of thepencil to be sharpened, is preferably integral with hollow shaft 8,rotatably housed in shafthousing 2. Keyed to shaft 8 by set-screw 9 orother suitable means is a handle l0, which may be manually rotated. Oneor more cutter shafts, such as pins H, l2, are suitably secured to frame6, for example by threaded shoulders I3, M, respectively, and haverotatably mounted upon them preferably cylindrical milling cutters l5and it, on which are pressed spur gears i1 and it, respectively.

If handle ii! is revolved manually (or by power means, when desired andprovided for), shaft 8 and its integral or rigidly attached frame 6 willrevolve; milling cutters l5 and it will be rotated in an orbital path,carried with frame 6, and cutters Hi, It, through the meshing of spurgears ll, l8 and internal gear l, will also rotate axially on pins H and42. This form-0f .construction and its operation are well known.

My invention pertains to certain features of novelty and improvement,which, in their preferred form, are illustratedin Figs. 1, 5 and'G. Apreferably cylindrical shaft i9 is positioned in the bore of hollowshaft 8 in such manner as to permit longitudinal adjustment of shaft l9,or rotation of shafts 8 and I9 as a unit when handle it. is revolved. Akey 29, with its upper face flattened, is pressed intoa suitableindentation in handle it and fits into a milled slot in shaft l9,preventing independent rotation of shaft l9, but permitting its limitedlongitudinal movement.

Loosely fitted into a slot 22 in handle in is an indicator arm 23, whichis mounted for pivotal adjustment on a pin 24 pressed into suitableholes in handle I0. On the lower end of arm 23 is formed a gear sector25, adapted to engage gear teeth 26 on shaft I9. Arm 23, or its upperportion 23a, is preferably a stamping of resilient metal normallyslightly bent, so that it tends to press laterally against an indicatorpanel 23, preferably integral with handle I0. Panel 23 is preferablyindented with a number of circular concave indentations, ten beingindicated in the drawing, each identified by a numeral. The upperportion of arm 23 is drilled for reception of a pin 21, which, as shownin Figure 1a, is provided with a handle 3| and a curved end, 32 adaptedto fit into any one of the indentations 29, to releasably secure arm 23and shaft I9 in selected adjusted position. By this means shaft I9 maybe shifted longitudinally to any position within the limits shown andlocked in such adjusted position. In Fig. 1 shaft I9 has been shifted tothe left a maximum distance, corresponding to position 10 on the panel28.

Shaft I9 is milled to form a fiat portion 33 on which is mounted a flatauxiliary cutter blade 34, secured to shaft I9 by machine screws 35 and33, or. by other suitable means. In its preferred form of embodiment, myauxiliary cutter, functioning as a combined pencil-stop andpoint-cutter, is in the form of a blade 34 (shown in Figs. and 6)preferably made of thin tool steel, ground at one end to form asubstantially V-shaped pair of cut- 'ting edges 3I,and is provided witha pair of apertures 38, 39 adapted to receive screws 35, 33. The apex ofthe V formed by cutting edges 3? is slight-' ly flattened; the flatportion 49 does no cutting, but acts as a stop to prevent excessive feedof the pencil lead aftercompletion of the sharpening operation andproduces a point which 'is frustoconical at its tip, as shown in Fig. 2.

Blade 34 is ground on both sides, in the vicinity of cutting edges 31,to produce concavities 4i; the path of the grinding wheel is indicatedby dotted lines and 43 on Fig. 6.

Auxiliary cutter blade 34 is positioned between milling cutters I5, I6(Fig. 1), arranged in converging positionto form a V-shaped or taperedspace between them. At their apex there is a slight clearance 44 betweencutters I5 and I3, through which space blade 34 projects. It is becauseof this small clearance that it is necessary to grind the concavities onblade 34.

Preferably the angle between cutting edges 31 of blade 34' is greaterthan the angle between milling cutters I5 and I6. In the drawings thelatter angle is shown as'substantially 20, which is common practice,whereas the angle between cutting edges 31 is preferably 45: the latterangle, of course, may be subject to considerable variation.

In operation, if arm 23 is swung to the extreme left position, that is,to indentation 29 of po- 4 such as that indicated in dotted lines onFig. i. This is similar to the ordinary point (Fig. 3), but the leadportion is dressed to form a cone 45 (Fig. l) bf larger angle, asclearly shown in Figure 2.

If an intermediate point is desired, it may be obtained by shifting arm23 to any selected intermediate position (positions 2 to "9; Fig. 1).Thus any desired length of point may be selected between the limitsillustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. As the point selected becomes longer, cone46 becomes shorter, disappearing when the limit (point 41; Fig. 3) isreached. Thus it is possible to obtain an infinite variety of pointsbetween the sition 1, shaft I9 will be moved to the extreme rightposition and blade 34 will be shifted to the right until flat portion 40of blade 34 coincides with apex 44 of cutters I5, I6, as to position. Inthis relative positioning of the parts the machine operates in themanner of an ordinary pencil sharpener, flat portion 40 acting as a stopand the usual pencil-point 41 (Fig. 3) being produced,

If an extremely short point is desired, arm 23 is swung to the extremeright, to the position 10 illustrated in Fig. 1, causing blade 34 toproject to the left a maximum distance and resulting in the productionof a pencil-point'on pencil 45 limits notedabove, although I prefer tolimit the number to ten, as shown. a

, By means of the above-described preferred form of my invention a widerange of pencils, from those with small hard leads to those with largesoft colored leads, may be sharpened to produce the point most suitablefor its particularwork, with resulting economy of pencils andgreatersatisfaction to the user.

A modified form of the invention is illustrated in Fig. 4, by means ofwhich a series of pencil points maybe produced which vary from thesimple substantially conical point illustrated in Fig. 8, through thepointed cylindrical points of Figs. 9 and 10, to the blunt cylindrical.point shown in Fig. 11. i

It has been the practice to produce special blunt cylindrical points,such as are used by draftsmen and illustrated in Fig. 11, by equipping asharpener with milling cutters of the formshown in outline in Fig. 4.Cutters 48 and 49 are dressed down to form frusto-conical portionsifl,5|, respectively, their inner edge-s being disposed parallel to eachother and separated byaspace 52, preferably as wide as the diameter ofthe pencillead. By this expedient the wooden end portion 53 of thepencil 54 is dressed frusto-conical in shape (shown in dotted outline inFig. 4), whereas the lead is trimmed of all Wood and left cylindrical,as shown in Fig. 11.

In-the modification illustrated in Fig. 4, adifferent form of auxiliaryblade is used. This'auxiliary blade 55 (Fig. 7 has a pair of cuttingedges 53 converging to form a V with the apex slightly blunted to formaflat stop 51.- The angle formed between edges 56 (Fig. 7), whilepreferably larger than the angle-between the cylindrical walls ofmilling cutters 48 and '49 (Fig. 4), is preferably smallerthan the anglebetween vcutting'edges of blade 34 (Fig. 5). It should be n0ted-that,inthe case of blade 55, it is unnecessary to grind concave faces such asconcavities M of blade 34, since there is ample space for projectingblade 55 between cutters 48 and 49 (Fig. 4) without such grinding. Holes53 and 59 in blade 55 servepurposes similar to ho1es'38 and 39 of blade34.

Washers 60 and 6I,isecured to the ends of milling cutters 48, 49,respectively, by any suitable means, serve as auxiliarystops, which willbe referred to hereinafter. I *do not limit myself to this particularform of auxiliary stop, however, since many other forms well known inthe art may be used, H

In the operation of the modified form of the invention illustrated inFig. 4, ifblade 551s projected between cutters 48 and 49 a, distancesuch as to bring the ends'of the cutting edges .56 of blade 55 to theline designated by point A',. a pencil point such as point 62 (Fig.3),will be'produced. Preferably no wood is cut by blade 55 and the base ofthe cone of lead, at-A, is located eX- '5 actly where the wood starts."Point- 62-is preferably the shortest pointand -sh'ould'be compared withpoint 46 (Fig. 2)

If blade 55 iswithdrawn to point- 2B (Fig. 4) a pointedcyl-indrical-point-is produced (such' as point 63 of Fig. 9). Thisshould be compared with point41 (Fig, 3') and maybe re'gardedas a eneralutility point. The base 'of' the cone of point 63 is at B.

If blade 55 is-withd'rawntathe line of point C, an extraordinarily longpointed cylindrical point 6 1 (Fig. 10) is produced. As'in Figs. 8 and9, the dimensions ofthecone are substantially unchanged, butitsbase isat'point C,'leaving a longer cylinder of lead exposed.

In producing the pencil points illustrated in Figs. 8, 9 and 10, stop 51of blade SE -(Fig. 7) functions in a manner similar to stop '40 of blade34 (Fig. 5).

To produce a completely blunt cylindrical point, such as point 65 (Fig.11), blade'55 is withdrawn to point D (Fig. 4), or farther, so that theconverging cutting edges '56' are ineffective; the lead coneconsequently disappears from the pencil point (see point D; Fig. 11).Since stop 57 of blade 55 'is withdrawn to'a position where it is nolonger effective as a stop, auxiliary stops E and GI function to stop'the pencil lead and the sharpener functions in substantially the samemanner as the simple blunt-point sharpeners of ordinary designhereinbefore described.

Both the preferred embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1 and the modifiedform shown in Fig. 4 utilize the i'mportant'feature of the projection ofthe auxiliary cutting blade 34 or'55 into the tapered space between theconverging milling cutters I5, I 6 and 48, 49, respectively. Theauxiliary cutters (blades 34, 55) revolve at" the same rate as theorbital revolution of the milling cutters (l 5, H or 48, 49) theauxiliary cutter tends to steady the pencil lead, sothat there isconsiderably less likelihood of breakage than if the lead were projectedfrom between the milling cutters without the aid of the auxiliary cutteras a guide and stop,

Even after the pencil is inserted into the cutter assemblage apencilpoint other than that registered in the machine may be selectedwithout injury to the existing point, by shifting the auxiliary cutter34 or 55 longitudinally, i. e., on the longitudinal axis-of thepencilbeing sharpened. The modified form of adjusting means for the auxiliarycutter blade, shown in Fig. 12, is adapted to be used in connection withthe milling cutters 48, 49, and may be substituted for the bladeadjusting means of Fig; 1. This modified adjustment may'be'preferable incertain forms of pencil sharpeners.

In the Fig; 12 form'ofadjusting means blade 34 is secured, by'screws35,36, to a shaft [9a (similar to shaft [9 in Fig. 1) slidably mounted inthe bore of hollow 'shaft' aa, which is secured to frame 6a by athreadedconnection 66, provided with a set screw 61. A key 20a pressedinto a suitable indentation in the wall of hollow shaft -which-isloosely fitted between the end face 76 of hollow shaft 811 anda'shoulder 69 on handle Illa,

is rotatable independently ofhandle Illa or hollow shaft 8a. Apin'.'|'3, pressedinto an aperture in bushing 12, engages in a spiralgroove" 68 in shaft l9a.

Step by step adjustment of knob 14, for corresponding adjustment ofshaft lea and cutter blade 34 through the pin and groove connection13-69, is facilitated by'the provision ofgrooves 77, preferably ten innumber, spaced around a portion of the peripheral surface-of an enlargedThe operation of this modi-fiedform of bladeadjusting means, relative tothe other parts of the pencil sharpener-device disclosed and claimedherein, is substantially the'sameas that of the blade-adjusting means'shownin Fig. 1 and described as the preferred form of embodiment.

Iclaim:

1. A pencil sharpener comprising a support, a head rotatably mounted onsaid support, substantially cylindrical milling cutters carried by saidhead with their cutting faces in converging relationship to formatapered space between said cutters, and a cutting blade carried by saidhead substantially axially thereof and projecting between the convergingends of said cutters into the space between said cutters, said cuttingblade having a substantially V-shaped cutting edge and the faces of saidcutting blade being hollowground to permit the projection of said cuttinblade between the faces of said converging milling cutters.

2. A pencil sharpener comprising a support, a head rotatably mounted onsaid support, substantially cylindrical milling cutters carried by saidhead. with their cutting. faces in' converging relationship to form atapered space between said cutters, a cuttingblade' carriedby said headsubstantially axially thereof and projecting between said cutters intothe space between said cutters,v said blade having. a'substantially V-shaped cutting edge the faces" of which form an angle greater than theangle between the cutting faces of said cutters, whereby the pointproduced by said blade is of larger angle than the point produced bysaid cutters, and means mounting said cutting blade for'movement betweena position substantially at the ends of said milling cutters and variousother positions between said milling cutters.

3. A pencil sharpener comprising aisuppcrt, a frame rotatably mounted onsaid support, milling cutters rotatably mounted' on said frame inangular relationship forming aspace between said cutters, said cuttersbeing substantially'cylindrical with their adjacent end portionsfrusto-conical, said frusto-conical end portions forming a substantiallyrectangular shaped space between adjacent longitudinally extendingportions of said cutters, an auxiliary cutter on said framesubstantially axially thereof and projecting between the ends of saidcutters into the space be- 7 7 tween said cutters, and means mountingsaid auxiliary cutter for movement betweena position substantiallyat theends of said millin cutters and various other positions between saidmilling cutters. r e r Y e g 4. A pencil sharpener comprising asupport,a frame rotatably mounted on said support, said frame including a hollowshaft, milling cutters rotatably carried by said frame in angularrelationship, forming between them a space, an auxiliary cutter carrierslidably mounted in said hollow shaft, an auxiliary cutter carried by"said carrier and projecting between said milling cutters into saidspace, and manually-operable means engaging said carrier for adjustingsaid carrier and said auxiliary cutter to project said auxiliary cuttera selected distance axially into said space.

5. A pencil sharpenercomprising a support, a'

frame rotatably mounted on said support, said frame including a hollowshaft open at its ends, milling cutters rotatably carried by said framein angular relationship, forming betweenthem a space, an auxiliarycutter carrier slidably mounted in said hollow shaft, an auxiliarycutter carried by said carrier and projecting between the ends of saidmilling cutters axially into said space, said hollow shaft and saidcutter'carrier being slidably positioned in and removable from saidsupport, a rotatable handle, and means detachably securing said handleto said frame to permit removal of said handle'and said cutter carrierfrom' said frame through an end of said hollow shaft. V I a 6. A pencilsharpener comprising a base, ahead rotatably mounted on said base,shafts carried by said head and projecting therefrom in substantially V-shaped arrangement, a substantially cylindrical milling cuttersupported on each of said shafts, the cutting faces of said cuttersbeing disposed in angular relationship to form a substantially V-shapedspace between said cutters, an auxiliary cutter blade adjustably carriedby said head substantially axially thereof and slidably mounted thereonto project the end of said blade between the ends of said cuttersaxially into the space between said cutters, means for rotating saidhead, means operable from the exterior of the device for adjusting saidauxiliary cutter blade axially into said substantially V- shaped spacefor producing a point of selected length on a pencil inserted betweensaid cutters, and means mounting said auxiliary cutter blade formovement between a position substantially at the ends of said millingcutters and another position between said miling cutters.

7. A pencil, sharpener comprising a support, milling cutters rotatablymounted on said support in axially-converging relationship forming agenerally-tapered space between saidcutters for reception of a penciltobe sharpened, an auxiliary flat blade point cutter rotatably mountedon said support on an axis of rotation coincident with the axis of saidspace, means for rotating said milling cutters about the axis of saidspace and for rotating said auxiliary cutteron said axis, and meansmounting said auxiliary cutter for movement between a position sub- 8stanti-ally at the ends of said milling cutters and various otherpositions between said milling cutters.

, 8 A pencil sharpener comprising a support, a framerotatably mounted onsaid support, said irame including a hollow member,;milli ng cuttersrotatably carried by said frame in angular relationship forming betweenthem aspace, an auxiliary cutter slidably mountedin said member andprojecting between said milling cutters into said space, and manuallyoperable means engaging, said auxiliary cutter for adjusting saidauxiliary cutter to project said auxiliary cutter a selected distanceaxially into said space.

9. A pencil sharpener comprising a support, a frame rotatably mounted onsaid support, said frame includinga hollow member open at itsendsymilling cutters rotatably carried by said frame in angularrelationship forming between them a space, an auxiliary cutter carrierslidably mounted in said member, an auxiliary cutter carried by saidcarrier and projecting between the ends of said milling cutters axiallyinto said space, said hollow member and said cutter member beingslidably positioned in and removable 7 from said support, a rotatablehandle-and means V tween said milling cutters.

detachably securing said handle to said frame to permit removal of saidhandle and said cutter carrier from said frame through an end of saidhollow member. e

10.A pencil sharpener comprising a support, a head rotatably mounted onsaid support, milling cutters'carried by said head with their .cuttingfaces in converging relationship to form a tapered space between saidcutters, a cutting blade carried by said head substantially axiallythereof and projectable into the space between said cutters; said bladehaving a cutting edge with a contour arranged to assist in supportingthe pencil point as the millingcutters andblade conjointly shape apencil point having portions 7 of difierent angular relationship, andmeans mounting saidrcutting blade for movement between a positionsubstantially at the ends of said milling cutters andvarious otherpositions be- JOHN A. YEBKES,

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of recordin the file ofthis patent:

UNITED sTATEs PATENTS If I Date Number 319,546 Germany "1920

